{"id":208601,"date":"2025-01-02T08:50:25","date_gmt":"2025-01-02T18:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=208601"},"modified":"2025-01-09T10:07:50","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T20:07:50","slug":"aloha-uh-ohana-from-president-hensel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/01\/02\/aloha-uh-ohana-from-president-hensel\/","title":{"rendered":"Aloha, UH<\/abbr> \u02bbOhana\u2014A Message from President Wendy Hensel"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"Wendy<\/p>\n

This message was shared with the students, faculty and staff of the 10-campus University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> system on January 2, 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n

Aloha!<\/p>\n

I hope your holiday season was relaxing and filled with the joy of time spent with family and friends. I am truly honored today to begin my tenure as your new president. Thanks to all of you who have warmly welcomed my husband and me to the UH<\/abbr> ʻohana. I look forward to meeting the members of our community in the days and months ahead.<\/p>\n

Stay connected with President Wendy Hensel by following her on X<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, and LinkedIn<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Stepping into this role is both exciting and humbling because of UH<\/abbr>\u2019s importance to so many. I share with our community the tremendous responsibility of ensuring that UH<\/abbr> continues to serve its vital role in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and build on its upward trajectory in many critical areas. We have important work to do together providing affordable, high-quality education, conducting groundbreaking research that matters, fulfilling our kuleana to being a Native Hawaiian place of learning and commitment to being an Indigenous-serving and inspired institution, expanding workforce development in service to our state, and so much more. Fortunately, as we begin 2025, we have a solid foundation of excellence across our 10-campus system, and I thank departing President David Lassner for his devotion and service to UH<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

As a new member of this ʻohana, I look forward to getting to know each and every member of our community, building pilina and learning about what is important to you. I will be a regular presence at events across the university and hope to meet you personally as I visit each campus and workforce center in the next ninety days. Details on these visits will be shared in the days ahead. In the meantime, I invite you to learn more about me on the “Meet the President” webpage<\/a>. My top priority will always be our students. Whether they are starting a two-week workforce training program or completing a PhD<\/abbr>, I believe it is our moral obligation to ensure their success and prepare them for our rapidly changing future. <\/p>\n

My husband Kenton and I were fortunate to spend the holidays in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> surrounded by the love of our children and friends, and we are reminded time and again of the warmth of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and its people. We are fully committed to this community, its people, and the success of UH<\/abbr>. While words are a start, my actions will ultimately define my leadership.<\/p>\n

I am excited about the future of UH<\/abbr> and confident that, together, we can build upon UH<\/abbr>\u2019s proud legacy and continue innovating, inspiring and leading. Mahalo nui loa for your support and Happy New Year!<\/p>\n

With Aloha,

\nWendy Hensel
\nUH<\/abbr> President<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“As a new member of this ʻohana, I look forward to getting to know each and every member of our community, building pilina and learning about what is important to you.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1193],"tags":[61,62,63,64,65,1638,394,71,14,9,60,947,59,1664,66],"class_list":["post-208601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-administrative","tag-hawaii-community-college","tag-honolulu-community-college","tag-kapiolani-community-college","tag-kauai-community-college","tag-leeward-community-college","tag-president","tag-presidents-office","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-manoa","tag-maui-college","tag-uh-system","tag-uh-west-oahu","tag-hensel","tag-windward-community-college","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t